European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen survived a no-confidence vote in the European Parliament on Thursday, brought by mainly far-right lawmakers who alleged she and her team undermined trust in the EU through unlawful actions. As expected, the motion failed to get the two-thirds majority it needed to pass. Only 175 members of parliament backed the motion, while 360 voted against and 18 abstained. Romanian nationalist Gheorghe Piperea, the lead sponsor of the motion, had criticized among other things the Commission’s refusal to disclose text messages between von der Leyen and the chief executive of vaccine maker Pfizer during the COVID-19 pandemic. “The decision-making has become opaque and discretionary, and raises fears of abuse and corruption. The cost of obsessive bureaucracy of the European Union such as (tackling) climate change has been a huge one,” Piperea told the parliament on Monday. During the debate on her leadership, von der…

The words “Get out of Mexico” are still visible on one shop window as protestors violently kicked in the glass pane. In another clip, “Kill a gringo” is spray-painted on a wall in Mexico City as demonstrators carried placards demanding western foreigners “stop stealing our home.” These were some of the striking scenes at a mass protest last week against gentrification and the rising cost of living in the Mexican capital city, which some have blamed on an influx of foreigners from the United States and Europe. While the demonstration was largely peaceful and reflected growing anger about inequality in the Mexican capital, those who vandalized stores in the city’s wealthier neighborhoods and used anti-immigration language were criticized by Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum as being xenophobic. “No to discrimination, no to racism, no to classism, no to xenophobia, no to machismo, no to discrimination. All human beings, men and women,…

Rescuers pulled six crew members alive from the Red Sea after Houthi militants attacked and sank a second ship this week, while the fate of another 15 was unknown after the Iran-aligned group said they held some of the seafarers. The Houthis claimed responsibility for the assault that maritime officials say killed four of the 25 people aboard the Eternity C before the rest abandoned the cargo ship. Eternity C went down Wednesday morning after attacks on two previous days, sources at security companies involved in a rescue operation said. The six rescued seafarers spent more than 24 hours in the water, those firms said. The United States Mission in Yemen accused the Houthis of kidnapping many surviving crew members from Eternity C and called for their immediate and unconditional safe release. “The Yemeni Navy responded to rescue a number of the ship’s crew, provide them with medical care, and…

Australian universities may lose funding if they’re not judged to be doing enough to address anti-Jewish hate crimes, according to new measures proposed by the country’s first antisemitism envoy. Jillian Segal was appointed to the role a year ago in response to a surge in reports of attacks against Jewish sites and property in Australia, following Israel’s invasion of Gaza, and was tasked with combating antisemitism in the country. Standing alongside Prime Minister Anthony Albanese Thursday, Segal released a report nine months in the making proposing strong measures, including the university funding threats and the screening of visa applicants for extremist views. “The plan is not about special treatment for one community; it is about restoring equal treatment,” Segal said. “It’s about ensuring that every Australian, regardless of their background or belief, can live, work, learn and prosper in this country.” Like in the United States, Australian campuses were once…